This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/11/2013
Here’s a good way to tell about the overall condition of a set – maybe not foolproof, but certainly a solid game plan: send away the keys for third-party blessing and see what you get in return. In the case of this blazing Ex-Mt to Near-Mint 1954 Topps Baseball set, the verdict is resounding and unambiguous: virtually of all of the keys came back in PSA 6 and 7 holders, along with a bunch of SGC 84’s and even an SGC 86. A total of 76 cards have been slabbed and there’s no reason that you couldn’t send all the rest off to be similarly entombed. Your call, but first you’ve got to be the winning bidder. So you can believe us when we say that the lot is an Ex-Mt to Nr-Mt keeper, a wonderful accumulation of one of the most important issues in Topps fabled history. Teddy Ballgames No. 1 and No. 250 treasures are both PSA 6’s, and the No. 10 Jackie Robinson is graded SGC 4, while No. 128 Hank Aaron graded SGC 5, No. 94 Ernie Banks graded SGC 5 and No. 201 Al Kaline graded SGC 6. Overall, it works out to 60 percent Near-Mint and 38 percent Ex-Mt. Outstanding!
Here’s the breakdown – NM-MT - 162 PSA 8, 183 Combs PSA 8, 214 PSA 8;
Near-Mint (150): 2, 4, 5 PSA 7, 6, 9 PSA 7, 11 PSA 7, 12, 14, 15 PSA 7, 16, 17 Rizzuto SGC 84, 19 PSA 7, 20 Spahn SGC 84, 21, 22, 23 PSA 7.5, 24, 25 Kuenn SGC 86, 26 o/c, 28, 29 GAI 7, 31 PSA 7, 33, 34, 36 Wilhelm PSA 7, 37 Ford SGC 84, 38 PSA 7, 41, 43 PSA 7, 45 Ashburn SGC 84, 46, 47, 51, 56, 57, 58, 61, 62, 63, 64, 71, 73, 76, 77, 81, 83 PSA 7, 84, 88 PSA 7, 91 PSA 6.5, 92, 93 o/c, 95, 97, 99, 103, 104o/c, 105 o/c, 107, 109, 110 PSA 7, 111 o/c, 112 PSA 7, 113 PSA 7, 117, 118 PSA 7, 119, 120, 122, 124, 125, 126, 129, 130, 131, 132 LaSorda PSA 7, 133, 137, 141, 142 PSA 7, 143, 144 PSA 7, 145 PSA 7, 148, 149, 150, 152, 154, 155, 156, 157 o/c, 158, 159, 161 PSA 7, 163, 165, 166, 167, 168, 170, 172, 173, 174, 177, 179, 184, 185, 186, 187 Manush, 188, 189, 191, 196 PSA 7, 197 PSA 7, 198 PSA 7, 200 o/c, 202, 203 PSA 7, 204 PSA 7, 205, 206, 207, 208, 212 PSA 6.5, 213, 215 PSA 7, 217 PSA 7, 218 PSA 7, 220 PSA 7, 223 o/c, 225, 227, 228 PSA 7, 229 PSA 7, 231 PSA 7, 234, 236, 238, 239 Skowron PSA 7, 240, 244, 248 and 249
Ex-Mt (94): 1 Williams PSA 6, 7 PSA 6, 8, 18, 27 PSA 6, 35 PSA 6, 39 PSA 6, 40, 42, 44, 48, 49 PSA 6, 50 Berra PSA 6, 52, 53, 54, 55, 59, 60 76, 66, 67 PSA 6, 68, 74, 75, 78, 79, 80, 85, 86 Herman, 87, 89, 90 Mays PSA 6, 96, 98, 100, 101, 102 Hodges PSA 6, 106, 108, 114, 115, 116, 121, 123, 127, 134, 135, 138, 139, 140, 146 PSA 6, 147, 151, 153, 160, 164, 169, 171, 175, 176, 178 PSA 6, 180, 181, 182, 190, 192, 194, 195, 199 209, 210, 211, 216, 219, 221, 222, 224, 226 PSA 6, 230, 233, 235, 237, 241, 242, 243, 245, 247 and 250 Williams PSA 6; and
Excellent (6): 3 Irvin PSA 5, 13 Martin PSA 5.5, 30 Mathews PSA 5, 32 Snider PSA 5, 69, 70 Doby, 72, 136, 193 and 232.
A breakdown of graded cards is as follows: SGC 7.5 - 25 Kuenn; SGC 7 (4) - 17 Rizzuto, 20 Spahn, 37 Ford, 45 Ashburn; SGC 6 - 201 Kaline; SGC 5 (2) - 94 Banks, 128 Aaron; and SGC 4 - 10 Robinson.
PSA 8 (3) - 162, 183 Combs, 214; PSA 7.5 (1) - 23 Easter; PSA 7 (34) - 5 Lopat, 9 Haddix, 11, 15, 19, 31, 38, 36 Wilhelm, 43, 47, 83 Collins, 88, 110, 112, 113, 118, 132 Lasorda, 142, 144, 145, 161, 196, 197 Rowe, 198, 203, 204, 215, 217, 218, 220 Gomez, 228, 229, 231, 239 Smalley; PSA 6.5 (2) - 91, 212; PSA 6 (18) - 1 Williams, 7 Kluszewski, 27 Fain, 35 Gilliam, 39, 49, 50 Berra, 57, 67, 90 Mays, 102 Hodges, 108, 143, 146, 178, 191, 226 and 250 Williams; PSA 5.5 (3) - 13 Martin, 156, 166 Podres; PSA 5 (6) - 3 Irvin, 14 Roe, 30 Mathews, 32 Snider, 109 and 205 Sain.